My Sex Friend Is My Childhood Friend? - 41

Chapter 41: Even If This Life Comes to an End

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After the bath, we had breakfast and it was time to check out. I pulled the car up to the front gate of the inn and took a picture with Mahiru. This was our first trip together. It felt bittersweet to think that this trip was already coming to an end.

I got in the car and gripped the steering wheel. When I started the engine, the fuel gauge needle moved only slightly.

The gas has gone down more than I expected. Should probably fill up somewhere.

About thirty minutes after leaving the inn, we arrived at Sesshōgawara, which the Okami-san had told us about. Mahiru and I walked along the promenade. As far as the eye could see, the terrain looked like the craters on the moon, with volcanic gas venting from the ground.

Apparently, the name came from the fact that living creatures would perish here. It was a well-known sightseeing spot, but for some reason, it was empty today. It was pleasant. Lucky us.

When we went to the souvenir shop, Mahiru said she wanted a mysterious little stone called a “Mini Sesshō-seki.” It had all three elements of something unnecessary: unclear use, expensive, and didn’t even seem like a local souvenir. Naturally, I turned her down.

But of course… Mahiru threw a tantrum, insisting she had to have it. I’d thought this when it was about the crocodile too, but I really didn’t understand her criteria for wanting things. I asked Mahiru what she planned to do with it.

After thinking about it for a while, she replied.

“Hmm… Maybe to hold down memos, or to have it guard the box at home?”

Guard it? Was this some kind of sealed spirit stone? If anything, it looked like it was harboring an evil spirit. Well, I had a lot of thoughts about it, but in the end, I bought it for her as a souvenir.

After we finished sightseeing, we started heading home. Mahiru, humming a little tune, placed the Mini Sesshō-seki on the car’s dashboard. About five minutes into the drive. Suddenly, it started snowing heavily.

What? It’s only November in Kusatsu—does snow even pile up this time of year?

It turned into a whiteout, and I couldn’t see anything ahead. And today of all days, there were barely any other cars on the road—no taillights to use as a reference point.

This is bad.

I didn’t have snow tires, so trying to keep moving would be dangerous. I pulled over to a nearby chain installation area. For now, I turned on the hazard lights and decided to wait it out inside the car.

It’s fine. This must just be temporary.

But as we waited, snow piled up on the windshield until we couldn’t see outside at all.

After about fifteen minutes, I stepped out to check the situation. Snow had built up all the way to the front grille of the car. Luckily, the back was sheltered by a large tree, so the muffler didn’t seem to be buried. The fact that we probably didn’t need to worry about carbon monoxide poisoning was the only silver lining.

Mahiru looked worried too. She stroked the Mini Sesshō-seki and said.

“Thanks to this little guy, the snow didn’t pile up on the muffler. We really ought to thank it.”

No, no. It started snowing heavily the moment you brought that thing into the car, you know?

We waited another thirty minutes. The snow still showed no signs of stopping, and it had built up so much it was hard to open the door.

This might actually be dangerous.

Thinking that, I tried to call JAF or the police, but my phone had no signal. When I turned on the radio, they were reporting that “a massive cold wave might bring once-in-decades snowfall to the mountainous regions north of Gunma.”

No wonder there were so few cars. I’d felt reassured by the forecast from two days ago and had neglected to check today’s weather. While snow continued to fall, Mahiru and I held hands and waited for time to pass. The silence around us was eerie, broken only by the occasional shhh of snow sliding down.

Eventually, the empty light on the fuel gauge came on.

How many hours will the gas last like this?

Once the heater stopped, the temperature inside the car would drop below freezing almost immediately. What started as a half-joking “this is bad” had somehow turned into a real threat to our lives. And now, neither of us could bring ourselves to face the reality that we might actually be stranded in the snow.

Mahiru squeezed my hand.

“Do you think… We’re going to die here?”

No. I have to save Mahiru, at least. But what should I do? I seriously don’t know.

Then Mahiru continued.

“It’s okay if it’s with you, Nagi-kun. If we die together… Do you think we’ll meet again in the next life?”

No, that’s not okay at all. If someone has to die, it should just be me.

Mahiru rested her head on my shoulder. Before I realized it, we were kissing. Mahiru whispered in my ear.

“Hey. Let’s do it one more time… I want to feel you when I go.”

Saying that, she took off her underwear, climbed over the center console, and came into the driver’s seat. We clung to each other, trying to erase our fear.

Partway through, Mahiru stopped moving and looked into my face. She clasped her hands in front of her chest, and with a pained, happy, and sorrowful smile, she whispered.

“Hey… Nagi-kun. Just this once, I want to be honest. The real me. The truth is…”

Even without hearing the rest, I already knew what she was going to say. I held Mahiru close and waited for her to finish.At that moment—

Click.

The car door suddenly opened. Standing outside was a man in work clothes and a helmet. Our eyes met.

“Ah—”

He quickly shut the door. Mahiru scrambled back to her seat and hastily fixed her clothes. About thirty seconds later, the door opened again and the man began speaking.

Behind him was a tow truck.

“Sorry to bother you out of nowhere. We’re closing off this mountain road. Our vehicle will lead the way, so could you please follow us to a spot with no snow?”

Saying that, he handed us a set of cloth snow chains for emergency use.

Apparently, he was with a rescue team and had happened to spot our car. We followed his lead and drove to a snow-free area. Once we were on a clear road and the cold had eased up a bit, it finally hit me—we were safe.

Thank god. We actually made it out alive.

Mahiru and I hugged each other, relieved to be alive. Mahiru seemed genuinely convinced that the Mini Sesshō-seki had saved us. But to me, it felt more like the whole ordeal had started because of that cursed stone.

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T/N: Sesshō-seki, also known in English as “Killing Stone,” is a mythical stone said to kill anyone who touches it.